DG's Quick Hits- May 12, 2002

Toronto Maple Leaf Darcy Tucker was taken out of Game 5 with a hard hit by Ottawa Senator captain Daniel Alfredsson along the boards and could miss the rest of the play-offs. Both sides were divided on the issue, as Alfredsson said his hit was legal while the Leafs refused comment so they wouldn’t get “fined by the league”.

Questionable, since the hit would have been clean if not for Tucker’s injury, but now the Leafs have to move on. They’ve spent too much time whining and not focusing on playing and it’s costing them, as every time Toronto gets a chance to put a stranglehold on the series, the Senators storm back to reclaim the lead. Tucker may only miss one game.

WINGS ADVANCE

The Detroit Red Wings easily beat the St. Louis Blues 4-0 on a 16-save performance by Domonik Hasek and a two-goal effort by Brendan Shananhan, wrapping up the Wings’ 4-1 series victory over the St. Louis Blues and sending Detroit to their first conference final since 1998.

Although they played well, the Wings are not celebrating, as they still have two more rounds to win for the Cup. Still, head coach Scotty Bowman praised his club, saying it was the best hockey game they played in the play-offs. The Blues were dejected, feeling that they could have won this series, but they were without captain Chris Pronger, injured during Game 4. The result signals another step in the Red Wings’ coronation march, while the Blues, who nearly doubled their payroll from last year, have another summer to think over what they’ve done. Certainly Brent Johnson won’t be the starter next year.

SLOVAKIANS WIN WORLD TITLE

Peter Bondra scored two goals including the game-winner with 1:40 left in the game to give the Slovakians a 4-3 victory over Russia at the World Championships, giving Slovakia their first world gold.

This should be good news for a nation that was caught on the wrong end of greedy National Hockey League owners back in early February, as Slovakia failed to qualify for the Olympic group stage because it didn’t have access to it’s NHL stars. At the worlds, they had the team they wanted, led by Bondra and Miroslav Satan, and got the result they wanted. Hopefully, in the 2006 Olympics, they’ll have the team they want there too.